Bending device for dry wall corner bead



May 7, 1963 D. c. FRANCIA maunmc DEVICE FOR DRY WALL CORNER BEAD Filed Nov. 14, 1960 INVENTOR. DOMINIC C. FRANCIA Fig. 3

ATTORNEY United States Patent Filed Nov. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 69,161 6 Claims. (Cl. 81-15) The present invention relates to a bending device for corner bead of the type used in dry wall constructions. In addition, the present bending device may be used for opening up the angle of any angular strip of material so that the resultant configuration is reproducible and uniform along its entire length. It is necessary many times to place corner beads on corners or edges where the angle is greater than 90, thus necessitating opening up of the angle of the corner head.

It is an object of the present device to provide a bending device for strips of corner bead which is portable, easy to operate and simple to adjust for various angled corner beads.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sturdy, one-operation bending device construction that will stand up under hard usage, and yet is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a bending device which is reliably effective for the purposes intended.

The above and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my bending device constructed in accordance with the .teachings of my invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device illustrated in FIG. 1 having part thereof broken away for purposes of clarity.

Fig. 3 is front elevation and perspective view respectively of a typical dry wall corner bead element.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation view of certain details of my invention.

Refering to the drawings device'for dry wall corner bead ance with the teachings of my invention comprises a pair of arms and 12 being hinged together at 14-. The arms 10 and 12 are elongated for purposes of leverage and terminate at their free ends in handles 16 and 18 respectively. Arm 12 is provided with a cross piece 20, while the arm 19 has an elongated press bar 22'. It should be noted that the bending device may be constructed of wood, metal, plastic or any other suitable material. It is preferable, however, that press bar 22 be provided with a hard metal strip 24 which constitutes the work surface of the press bar 22 that engages and bends the corner bead. Seated on cross piece of arm 12 is preferably an elongated strip of hardened material 26 against which one leg of the angled corner head is bent into engagement by the metal strip 24 of the press bar 22. Positioned angularly with respect to arm 12 is a pivotable plate strip 28 having a hinged plate 30 which is fixed to arm 12 but permits the strip to pivot in a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of said cross piece 20. It should be noted that at all times the pivotable plate strip 28 forms an obtuse angle with the arm 12. The edge of the plate strip 28 which is remote from the hinged plate 30 may be bent at 32 to a form clearly seen in FIG. 4. An additional bent strip 34 is doubled around the bent edge 32 of the pivotable plate strip 28 (see FIG. 4).

A suitable means for adjusting the angular relationship of plate strip 28 relative to arm 12 takes the form of an eyebolt 36 which is connected at one end to the in particular, the bending constructed in accord- 3,988,346 Patented May 7, 1963 hinged plate 30 while the other threaded end accommodates a wing nut 38. Thus, it should be apparent that by screwing and unscrewing wing nut 38 on the threaded portion of eye bolt 36 the plate strip 28 pivots by means of hinged plate 30 and a variation of the obtuse angle of pivotable plate strip 28 is achieved.

The operation of my bending device is a follows: The angle of bend for a corner head is determined first by adjusting the pivotable plate strip 28 to the correct angular position. A right-angled corner bead B is thereafter inserted on the device by wedging an edge thereof between the plate strip 28 and the bent strip 34. The bead then appears as in full lines in FIG. 4. Then the handle 16 of the arm 10 is grasped and rotated in a clockwise direction towards the handle 18 of the arm 12 until the arm 10 reaches the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1. When this is accomplished the metal strip 24- of the press bar 22 engages and bends a part B of the corner bead B so that the bead assumes the form illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 4 and the angle of the corner bead is opened up. Thus, the metal strip 24- engages the part B of the corner bead B and bends the same to the configuration desired by means of a single bending operation which will bend open a large section of corner head. The head may thereafter be slid through the device section by section and bending operations performed on one section at a time until the entire corner bead is opened up to the desired angle, and the bead may then be custom-fitted to the particular corner or edge that it was altered for.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the latter may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described and that in the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principle of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A bending device of the type suitable for bending an L-shaped strip of material comprising a pair of arms provided with handles, hinge means pivotally connecting said arms, an elongated plate pivotally connected to one of said arms and psitioned at an obtuse angle relative thereto, means connected to said plate for adjusting the angle thereof, said plate including clamping means to accommodate an L-shaped strip of material, and press means secured to the other of said arms whereby when said arms are pivoted towards each other the press means engages said L-shaped strip and bends the same to substantially the identical predetermined obtuse angle shape formed by said elongated plate and the top surface of said one arm.

2. A bending device of the type suitable for bending an L-shaped strip of material comprising a pair of arms provided with handles, hinge means pivotally connecting said arms, a first elongated plate located on one of said arms substantially perpendicular to the handle on said one arm, a second elongated plate .pivotally connected at an obtuse angle relative to said first elongated plate, means connected to said second plate for adjusting the angle thereof, said second plate including clamping means to accommodate an L-shape strip of material, and press means secured to the other of said arms whereby when said arms are pivoted towards each other the press means engages said L-shaped strip and substantially bends the same to a predetermined obtuse angle shape formed by said first and second elongated plates.

3. A bending device of the type suitable for bending an L-shaped strip of material comprising a pair of arms provided with handles, hinge means pivotally connecting said arms, an elongated plate hinged to one of said arms and pivotally positioned at an obtuse angle relative thereto, means connected to said plate for adjusting the angle thereof, said plate including a clamping means to accom: modate an L-shaped strip of material, and press means secured to the other of said arms and having a metallic engaging surface whereby when said arms are pivoted towards each other the metallic surface of the press means engages said L-shaped strip and bends the same to substantially the identical predetermined obtuse angle shape formed by said elongated plate and the top surface of said one arm.

' 4. A bending device of the type suitable for bending an L-shaped strip of material comprising a pair of arms provided with handles, hinge means pivotally connecting said arms, an elongated plate on one of said arms positioned at an obtuse angle relative thereto, one of said arms having a groove at the end thereof remote from said handle, means for adjusting the angle of said plate includinga threaded bolt secured at one endto said elongated plate and positioned in said :groove, and a screwconnecting nut at the other end of said bolt for adjusting said angle of the plate, said plate including clamping means to accommodate an L-shaped strip of material, and press means secured to the other of said arms whereby when said arms are pivoted towards each'other the press means engages said L-shaped strip and bends the same to substantially the identical predetermined obtuse angle shape formed by said elongated plate and the top surface of said one arm.

5. A bending device for right-angled dry wall corner bead comprising a pair of elongated arms, one of said arms being provided with a press means, hinge means pivotally connecting said arms to make the same co-extensive, a plate on the other of said arms positioned at an obtuse angle relative thereto, adjusting means for changing the angle of said plate, said plate including clamping means ,in the form of two interfitting bent strips for holding one part of said corner head while the other part is engaged by said press means whereby when said arms are pivoted toward each other the press means engages said right-angled corner bead to bend the same to substantially the identical predetermined obtuse angle shape formed by said elongated plate and the top surface of said one arm.

6. A bending device as set forth in claim 1 further comprisinga hardened surface on said press means for engaging a portion of said L-shaped strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A BENDING DEVICE OF THE TYPE SUITABLE FOR BENDING AN L-SHAPED STRIP OF MATERIAL COMPRISING A PAIR OF ARMS PROVIDED WITH HANDLIES, HINGE MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID ARMS, AN ELONGATED PLATE PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID ARMS AND POSITIONED AT AN OBTUSE ANGLE RELATIVE THERETO, MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID PLATE FOR ADJUSTING THE ANGLE THEREOF, SAID PLATE INCLUDING CLAMPING MEANS TO ACCOMMODATE AN L-SHAPED STRIP OF MATERIAL, AND PRESS MEANS SECURED TO THE OTHER OF SAID ARMS WHEREBY WHEN SAID ARMS ARE PIVOTED TOWARDS EACH OTHER THE PRESS MEANS ENGAGES SAID L-SHAPED STRIP AND BENDS THE SAME TO SUBSTANTIALLY THE IDENTICAL PREDETERMINED OBTUSE ANGLE SHAPE FORMED BY SAID ELONGATED PLATE AND THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID ONE ARM. 